Author's note: I apologize greatly for the large gap in updates. I've got four more chapters on deck, so you'll get chapters weekly. I'll get to work on finishing this up. And this chapter is much lighter than past chapters. Finnick and Katniss have some friendly moments.

If you want something light, check out Cheese Buns (if you haven't already), which is finished. You could also look into my other WIP Elaborate Lives, a soulmate AU.

Much thanks to my beta LavenderVanilla for helping out with this fic. (Seriously, have you read her stuff yet?)

Happy reading!

Chapter Fourteen

The first time Finnick stepped foot into the Everdeen house, it was nerve-wracking. He'd been on the move for so long that the floor still seemed to shift under his feet. Iris quickly sat him down and moved to make tea and finish the meal she'd been in the middle of preparing before they were called away for the impromptu wedding.

Caleb gave Finnick a harsh look. "You be good to my girl." He warned.

Finnick looked from his father-in-law to the young girl still glaring from the front door and then back. "Are you sure I'm the one you need to worry about?"

Slowly, a smile creeped across Caleb's lips. "Maybe not. I taught her how to take down animals twice her size. You hurt her, she'll hurt back."

Iris came back into the room, her younger daughter Prim just a few steps behind. They sat down a teapot and cups. Iris said, "Katniss pour the tea while Prim and I get dinner on the table."

Katniss opened her mouth to retort, but seemed to change her mind. She handed her father a cup of tea and then poured another. She held it out to Finnick, but then tipped it quickly, burning his lap.

Finnick shot to his feet. "What the hell?"

"Sorry." Katniss said, not sounding the least bit apologetic. "My hand slipped."

Caleb sighed and handed over a napkin. "Katniss, pour him another drink. And keep it in the cup this time."

Finnick dabbed at his trousers. "This isn't my fault." He snapped. "I didn't want to marry you, either."

"Don't talk like that." Caleb warned quickly, looking toward the door.

Finnick opened his mouth to ask why, but Prim stepped into the room and said, "Dinner will be a few more minutes. Katniss, Mama wants you to come help."

Katniss held Finnick's glare for another moment before she left the room.

Caleb laughed. "Yeah, you've got yourself a challenge. Katniss doesn't like people or trust them easily. She'll keep an eye on you." His hard look returned. "But I mean it about you being good to her. She may be able to look after herself, but I'll do worse than she can even think."

Finnick nodded. "Yes sir." He was sure the older man was telling the truth just by the look in his eye.

Katniss had cried herself to sleep for many nights. Finnick felt helpless, his hand resting between her shoulder blades as she sobbed into her pillow. Every time he tried to find words to soothe her, she shot him down.

After a week of being inconsolable, she just stared blankly at the ceiling. It was a little frightening, so much silence after almost constant noise. "I'll never see him again."

Finnick slipped his hand into the one Katniss slowly offered. "We'll be in Four soon."

"I was talking about Gale." She wrapped her fingers around his, slowly turning her head to look at him. "He was my closest friend. Is." She sighed. "I don't know anymore. You've really been a help, Finnick, and I appreciate you."

"I know." He patted her hand. "Maybe when it's safe again, you can all come home."

She stared at him, slightly confused. "And then I'd have to leave you."

"You couldn't care less about me. And you definitely won't once you see Peeta again." He reached out and caressed her cheek. "Will you?"

"We don't even know if we'll make it there." She shivered and rolled into him. "It's so cold."

He started to get out of bed. "I'll put another log on."

She wrapped an arm around his waist and shook her head. "Just a minute."

Pressing a light kiss to her forehead, Finnick settled back into the bed and smoothed his hand over Katniss's hair. "I'll make sure you get to Peeta. No matter what it takes, we're going to get there. I've been practicing walking quietly."

"You'll have to show me." She yawned hugely and turned away. "Put another log on the fire."

"Yes, ma'am." He scooted out of the bed and stoked the fire. After taking a moment to warm up beside the stove, he quickly returned to the bed.

Katniss had her arm stretched across the expanse of the mattress. Finnick tried to push it away, but she dropped it back in place.

"Move your arm." He said as he lifted it up again, slipping underneath it.

She squinted her eyes open and glared at him before rolling over once more.

"You've been sharing this bed with me for quite a while now and you still try to hog the whole damn thing."

She mumbled, "My bed first."

"Whatever you say." He draped his arm over her waist and she immediately pushed it away.

"Nope!"

"I thought you were cold." Finnick slipped his arm around her again.

Katniss grabbed his fingers and pressed them back until he let out a squeak. "Hands off tonight, Finnick."

He pulled his arm back quickly. "Fine." He grumbled.

He watched the back of her head. He knew she was asleep, but he couldn't calm his thoughts enough to relax into slumber.

What if they couldn't make it? What if Prim refused to leave without Rory? What if all hell broke loose before they had a chance to sneak away?

Finnick rolled away and tried sleeping again.

Katniss gently shook Finnick's shoulder until he moved onto his back. "It's Sunday. Let me sleep." He mumbled, his eyes still closed tightly.

"We need to go to the woods." She got up and hobbled back to the other side of the apartment.

He rubbed his face and called. "You need to come back to bed and sleep another hour."

"Go get in the washroom line." She called back. "I almost have breakfast done."

"How about you just bring me a plate?"

"How about you get your ass up?"

Finnick groaned and got out of bed, gathering his things. He stepped through the curtain and watched Katniss as she moved from one item on the stove to the other. A pained expression crossed her face when she turned and he hurried over to take the pan she held.

"You're still healing. You need to take it easy, Katniss." He refrained from adding, If you don't get better, we don't get out.

She nodded. She knew the implications without him saying a word. "Let me finish this." Turning back to the stove, she mixed something in another pot.

Finnick let out a long-suffering sigh. "You're so stubborn."

No one was in line for the washroom and he as able to do his business at a leisurely pace. But not too slowly because he was starving. Neither of them had eaten well for the last week since Gale and Madge had made their journey to Eleven.

Finnick walked back into the apartment to see Katniss sitting in a chair rubbing her ankle. "Want me to do that for you?"

She shook her head and dropped her foot to the floor. "I'm fine."

"You should know by now I won't let you off that easily." He sat in the adjacent chair and picked up her leg. Her ankle was still swollen, but not nearly as much as when she first injured herself. "Have you put any of that stuff on it in a while?"

"I was just doing that." She took in a sharp breath when he ran his fingers over her swollen flesh. "It hurts, Finnick." She admitted softly.

"We should probably stay in today." He left her foot on his knee as he filled his plate. He grabbed her leg when she tried to remove it. "Your mama said to elevate it."

She sighed and made her own plate. "I want to get out of this apartment. So we need to go to the woods. You need to practice walking softly."

He nodded. "Okay." He grinned. "But I'm carrying you the whole way."

"I will fight that one. I can walk." She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to protest. "I'll use the crutches."

"Thank you."

Their journey into the woods took much longer than Katniss would have liked, but Finnick kept his hand on her back and tried to distract her with jokes. He liked to make people smile and Katniss was his current favorite subject.

She was so serious most of the time and the only times she smiled were when her family was around or with Gale. She always smiled with Gale. But sometimes Finnick could get a smirk out of her on purpose. She mostly just laughed at his expense.

Katniss paused at the edge of the tree line. "You know, I'm on crutches and I walked more quietly here than you did."

Finnick chuckled. "This was a test?"

She nodded. "I'm always testing you." Then she made her way into the trees.

He followed, trying really hard to walk on his toes and not make any noise. He failed.

Katniss stopped and leaned a crutch against a tree. "Close your eyes. Count to fifty. Then come find me."

Finnick gave her a confused look. "Are we playing a game?"

She shook her head. "You're going to find me. But you have to listen."

He closed his eyes and started counting, listening to the sounds of the forest. He didn't hear her footfalls, but he heard his own as he went in search.

There were prints in the snow and he tried to follow those, but they became muddled and he gave up. "Katniss?"

"You have to find me." She called.

It sounded like she was behind him. "Say something else."

"Something else." She said dryly.

He spun around again. "Did you move?"

"I'm still in the same spot."

He took a step closer to where he thought her voice was coming from. "Did you ever play this game with Peeta?"

"This isn't a game, Finnick." Katniss warned.

Finnick groaned because it sounded like she was farther away now. "You haven't moved?"

"Not an inch." She promised.

He stepped around a tree and spotted the toe of her shoe. "So did you and Peeta play a game like this?"

It took her a moment to answer. "It ended in a kiss for the person looking."

He stepped closer. "Do I get a kiss when I find you?"

She sighed. "I guess."

He stepped around a tree and grabbed her arm. "Found you."

She smiled. "Took you long enough." She pulled him down and placed a kiss against his cheek. "Now you get to hide." She covered her eyes and started counting.

Trying really hard to walk on silent feet, he went for several steps. He doubled back a few times and walked around a couple trees.

He heard her counting come to an end and ducked behind a large bush.

Just a moment later, she leaned down in front of him. "Found you."

"How?" He straightened up.

"I listened." She smiled and looked down at his feet. "Good job trying to cover it up, though."

"Let me try again."

They continued for a few more rounds. Finnick got a little better, but Katniss still found him rather quickly every time.

They finally took a break and Finnick built a fire. Katniss wandered off while he worked and came back carrying two decent sized birds. She pulled a knife out of her boot and started cleaning them.

"How did you get those?" He asked in amazement.

"Well-thrown rock." She smiled slyly.

He shook his head in disbelief. "Peeta is a lucky man."

"Well, you've been pretty lucky for a few years."

He laughed. "You think so highly of yourself."

She chuckled. "I know my worth, Finnick."

"Good." Finnick moved closer and watched as she speared both birds on sticks and sat them over the fire. "I didn't know my own worth until Annie proved I had it. Then I lost it again until you finally trusted me."

Katniss pulled her coat tighter around herself and scooted an inch closer to him. "I know with your past..." She stared into the fire. "What happened to you wasn't right, Finnick. And that it was your uncle that put you in that position." She looked up at him. "Family is supposed to help, not hurt."

"I didn't know that. Not until I got here." He slid a tentative arm around her waist. When she didn't pull away, he rested his head against hers. "Thank you for being my family."

"It's what Everdeens do." She leaned forward to turn the birds to cook on the other side. "When we trust people, anyway." She looked over her shoulder. "Even if you can't walk quietly enough, I'll do all I can to get you to Annie."

"And I'll do everything I can to get you to Peeta." He rubbed a hand over her back. "Let me look at your ankle."

She hesitated a moment and then twisted, resting her foot on his lap. "My boot helps."

"Then you should probably wear it around the apartment." He slowly untied her laces and pulled the boot away, grimacing when she took in a sharp breath. "It still hurts?"

She nodded. "You called me stubborn this morning. It fits. It probably would have been healed by now if I stayed home."

"If Peeta asked you to, would you?" Her ankle was even bigger than when he'd looked at it before breakfast.

"I don't think that's fair." She grabbed the boot back and turned it away to slip it on.

"But would you do it for him?" Finnick pressed. "Because if it doesn't get better, you'll be just as useless as me stomping around in the woods."

Katniss let out a long breath and nodded. "Okay."

"We'll go talk to your mama and find out how to make it work." He rubbed her back. "I care about you, Katniss. And I care that we all get out of this alive."

"Thank you." She turned the birds again.

He pulled her into his side and kissed her temple.

"Stop with the kissing." She scolded, but she didn't move out of his embrace. He felt her shiver and decided she stayed close because of the cold, not because she wanted to be near him.

Katniss leaned forward and turned the birds again before she settled into Finnick's side once more. "One night Peeta came to my house and it was really late. We were all asleep, so it took some very persistent tapping to wake me. But it also woke Prim." She chuckled. "She went right back to sleep, thankfully. And Peeta and I came out here." She pointed. "There's a patch of dandelions and clover that come up every year over there. It's soft. And it was our place." She moved away. "Peeta and I never..." She turned the birds again. "But that was the first time we ever went farther than kisses."

Finnick reached out and rubbed between her shoulders. "I bet you remember the exact day."

"I do." She turned and looked him in the eyes. "I want us to make a promise, okay?"

"What promise?"

She took his hands in her own and squeezed them gently. "That we won't give up. No matter what, we won't stop moving until we get to Four. And we fight for them. But more importantly, we fight for us."

"Us?" He squeezed her hand. "Katniss—"

"I know Peeta. He's loyal and loving." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "If Annie is half as kind as you say, then I feel..."

Finnick completely understood. "You think they may have fallen in love."

Katniss shrugged and turned to pull one of the birds from beside the fire. Handing it over, she admitted, "I'm scared they have. Peeta loves so easily." She picked up the other bird. "And he's so easy to love." She got a faraway look in her eyes when she said, "I was gone for him as soon as he started showing interest in me."

He smiled. "That's nice."

She nodded as she chewed thoughtfully. "What about Annie?"

"She crept up on me. The same way she does to other people. Like she probably did with Peeta." His eyes stung. "Katniss, you have to promise me that you won't just..." leave me for something better. He couldn't finish the thought.

She must have sensed the rest of it because she nodded. "Promise. We're in this together, Finnick. I won't just run." She patted his leg. "As long as you won't."

"I won't." He tugged on her arm until she sat beside him once more and they watched the sunset between the trees as they finished their meal.